774 SIB HABBY JOHNSTON ON A NEW HOBSB. [Nov. 20, 



" never counted more than 29 together at one time. They go 

 " generally in families — an old patriarch accompanied by several 

 " females and young ones of different sizes. The young ones appear 

 " in early summer, when the females carry them for a few weeks at 

 " their breasts, afterwards on their backs. Nearly every evening in 

 " summer, Monkeys may be seen about 5 p.m. near Ferdinand's 

 " Battery and Devil's Gap, grubbing for roots and playing about the 

 " bushes. They have a sentinel on the look-out while feeding — he 

 " warns them of clanger by a noise like the distant bark of a dog. 

 " On two occasions my dog (a Scotch Terrier) has been attacked by 

 " the older animals. On several occasions also they have waited 

 " till the writer and his dog have arrived on the path below them, 

 " when they have sent down upon them showers of stones, some 

 " of the size of a cocoanut. The writer has never been personally 

 " attacked by a Monkey, but has known the old males approach 

 "quite close and grin at him." 



The Monkeys are also said to have occasionally committed great 

 devastation in some of the fruit-gardens near Europa Point, so that 

 the owners have obtained leave to shoot them. But as a rule they 

 are strongly protected by the authorities. 



A letter was read addressed to the Secretary by Sir Harry 

 Johnston, K.C.B., F.Z.S., dated Fort Portal, Toru, Uganda, August 

 21st, 1900. Sir Harry stated that he had made an excursion 

 round the southern base of Mount Ruwenzori and had crossed the 

 Semliki River halfway between Lake Albert Edward and Lake 

 Albert. He had entered the Great Congo Forest, which here 

 comes down to and even crosses the Semliki River. In the forest 

 he had obtained something like proof of the existence of a very 

 remarkable new horse (Equus sp. inc.) which appeared to inhabit 

 the forest. The following passage in Sir Harry Johnston's letter 

 contained his account of this animal : — 



"Reading through Stanley's ' Darkest Africa' I noticed that he 

 mentions his Dwarf having a name for horse or ass, and staling 

 that such animals were found in their forests. As the ordinary 

 Zebra type of Equine steadily avoids dense woodlands, this state- 

 ment seemed to me a curious one. When I entertained for months 

 the pigmy band which had been captured by a filibustering German 

 (and the restoration of whom to their homes was one of my motives 

 for going into the Congo Free State), I questioned them on this 

 subject and they were very explicit ; they told me they called the 

 animal ' 0',Api ' (' stands for a gasping sound like an aspirate or 

 Arabic K). They described it as being dun-coloured or dark grey 

 over all the upper parts of the body, with stripes on the belly and 

 legs. As soon as I reached the Belgian post of Mbeni I began 

 questioning my host, who at once acknowledged the existence of 

 this animal and promised to send me where 1 should shoot one. 

 They stated that it frequented the deepest parts of the Forest, 

 went usually in pairs, was dark iron-grey on the upper part of the 



